Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. Both these meals in my mind had great potential when reading the directions and looking at the pictures, but they were both huge failures in the culinary world.
First, Garlic Cilantro Shrimp. 
Got this recipe from Cooking Pleasures magazine. The cilantro mixture is the top dark green mixture that the shrimp are surrounding. In a blender, I combined garlic cloves, cilantro, walnuts, lemon juice, olive oil and some s&p. It came out thicker than what I believe it was suppose to be so I actually dipped my shrimp in it rather than coat them. I was not impressed. It may be that I am not as fond of cilantro as I thought I was, or it could be that it was just too strong for shrimp. Either way, I only dipped 2 shrimp before I just ate the shrimp as they were. I served the shrimp with Asparagus Risotto (boxed, Target's brand, Archer Farms?). The risotto was good, but no where near as flavorful and good as the other risotto flavors the brand offers, such as Leek and Mushroom :) This meal got 2 yums.
Got this recipe from Cooking Pleasures magazine. The cilantro mixture is the top dark green mixture that the shrimp are surrounding. In a blender, I combined garlic cloves, cilantro, walnuts, lemon juice, olive oil and some s&p. It came out thicker than what I believe it was suppose to be so I actually dipped my shrimp in it rather than coat them. I was not impressed. It may be that I am not as fond of cilantro as I thought I was, or it could be that it was just too strong for shrimp. Either way, I only dipped 2 shrimp before I just ate the shrimp as they were. I served the shrimp with Asparagus Risotto (boxed, Target's brand, Archer Farms?). The risotto was good, but no where near as flavorful and good as the other risotto flavors the brand offers, such as Leek and Mushroom :) This meal got 2 yums. Then tonight, I made Bacon Roasted Salmon. Sounded promising. Quick and simple. Put the bacon on top of the salmon, pop it in the oven at 450' for 10 minutes and dinner is served. 
I was hoping that the bacon fat and juices would seep into the salt and peppered salmon and infuse it with wonderful flavor since that was all there was to the recipe. I was greatly let down. It tasted like salmon by itself and bacon by itself. There was no fusion of pork meet fish. Might of well have had the bacon on the side and flavor the salmon with some lemon juice. It was just a very plain, unexciting dinner. Again, only 2 yums, only because I love bacon. Hopefully next week I'll cook up some 4 and 5 yummers!
I was hoping that the bacon fat and juices would seep into the salt and peppered salmon and infuse it with wonderful flavor since that was all there was to the recipe. I was greatly let down. It tasted like salmon by itself and bacon by itself. There was no fusion of pork meet fish. Might of well have had the bacon on the side and flavor the salmon with some lemon juice. It was just a very plain, unexciting dinner. Again, only 2 yums, only because I love bacon. Hopefully next week I'll cook up some 4 and 5 yummers!
It was a chicken breast stuffed with cheese, spinach and red bell pepper on top of mashed potatoes with a port wine sauce. I loved the presentation with the waffle fries fanning out and the zucchini green bean holder. The meal was very good! I loved the wine sauce, I cleaned my plate completely. The chicken was a bit dry, but the stuffing helped to hide that factor. I had a bite of Sarahs mussel appetizer and profiterole cream puff dessert. Both were good, but nothing that would make these dishes stand out from others of the same. The entrees were the steal of the show. Overall Tabaq was just OK. The ambience and views were great, but the food was standard and the customer service mediocre. I was not happy with the bartender downstairs nor the waiter for dinner. Both were not attentive us. Tabaq earns 3 Yums. 
.JPG)
